Tubular remote-control device



June 1, 1948. L. HERKERT v I TUBULAR REMOTE CONTROL DEVICE Original Filed April 10, 1941 amen Wow; Lou/s HERKERT Patented June 1, 194 8 'REMOTE-GGNTROL DEVICE Louis Her-Kort, Boulognfe sur seine, Fiance; vested in the Attorney General of the United States flriginat 'applicatiom April 10, 1941, Serial No.

Divided? and this application -March 26, 1945, Serial No. 584,877. In France April- III; 1940 r- Tlnsinvention relates to tubular remote control'devices for transmitting" compression ortractlon forces by'theectiori 01: a; flexible" rod movin many to' andf'ro in" a; sheath and acting upon mannered element, for instance a brake of'a' contact, situated at a'certain" distance from the operating oint;

It is an object of invention to provide an improvedcteviceofthis kind; having a high nrecnanicaremciency. and" a very reliable operadent from the reading of the present specification and will he finally po intedout in the claims.

According to the invention the device consists essentially of a flexible sti'ipor band maintained and suppoTtedinthe-centerof arigid or a'fleizib-le sheatlrby rolling members, mounted'on' both sides of the band: and bearing on the one hand upon the band and on the other hand upon a suril'ac'e'provided on theinside of the sheath.

Fig. I shows a longitudinal'section through a form of the remote control device, using a flexible sheath.

Fig. 2 is a cross section through a device according to Fig. '1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through a modification.

Referring now to the drawings, a flexible sheath I, in the case of Figs. 1 to 3, has a desired length and form according to the requirements and may comprise several bent or curved portions. The flexible sheath can be formed by a metallic wire tightly wound to form a flexible hose.

Along the center of the sheath, a strip or band 2 of metal, preferably having a high elastic limit, can be translated longitudinally; its form and cross section allow for its easy fiexure in one of its planes of symmetry, the flexing being much more dimcult in another plane at right angles to said plane of symmetry; the said strip can be easily twisted and consequently it follows the eventual bends of the sheath.

The strip 2 is supported in the center of the sheath l by rolling means 3 which can have the form of balls, mounted on its opposite faces and bearing, on the one hand, upon the strip, and on the other hand upon a second longitudinally disposed strip II on the inside of the sheath. Appropriate rolling surfaces or grooves 5 are preferably formed on both flat faces of the strip 2. The rolling surfaces on the sheaths are formed, according to Figs. 1 to 3, by suitable grooves or channels lfl provided in the flexible bands ll,

6' Claims. (Ch 501? 2 fixed on the innersuria'ce' ofthe'sheath l and diamjetric'alli 'opposedl V g V i v The rolling elements 3 fornrgroups wl'ricn'are heidin aspaced relation. along 'the'sneath; every group comprisin'g two, three orany other number of rolling elements; I They can be" mounted in pairs; one facingtl'ieother or alternately'as' shown in the drawing. These gnoupsof are. distributed at'such distances, that there" is no risk of'an inflexi'on of the'strip ib ycomprssion.

Owing to" me fiat" cross section ortne'smp'z,

its faces alwaysrema'in at right; anglesltfo tfie plane in which the sheath 1 hasbeen bent; so that the strip norr'n'all'y rests upon the rolling members 3"o'r' 42 v v A helical spring" 6 extendsinside" the sheath between its end'portions, and every rolling element S'ismaintained' in its position between two successive turns of this'spring B. The outside and inside diameters of this spring-are su'c'li that it' isriot in" Contact with.- the sheath'nor with the band; It's. diameter 7 and pitch preremmy so chosen that the rolling elements 3 areheld'by the spring against the band, so that it is possible to withdraw the spring out of the sheath without dropping of the said rolling elements.

If the spring is unable to maintain the rolling elements on the strip 2, every group of elements 3 can be maintained by one or several cages in cooperation with the spring, as shown by the reference characters I or l2. The cage 1 (Fig. 2) consists of a O-formed (opened) or O-formed (complete) tubular element enclosing a certain length of the spring 6 and having openings through which project parts of the rolling elemeni's. The cage I2, shown in Fig. 2, also has a tubular C-formed or O-formed shape; it is located between the spring 6 and the strip 2 and prevents the rolling elements from escaping when the strip 2 is withdrawn from the sheath.

Each end of the band 2 is fixed to an end piece 8, one of which receives the tractive or the compressive efi'prt to be transmitted and the other transmits the said effort to a receiving or controlled device. The ends of the sheath are listed by appropriate means 9.

The modification shown in Fig. 3 is similar to the form corresponding to Fig. 2; however, in this modification the cage l2 has been omitted. The recesses I3, formed in the cage 1 and pierced with an opening at their inside portion for the passage of the rolling elements cooperate with spring 6 to prevent the rolling elements from escaping when the strip 2 is withdrawn from Thepresent application is divided out of the pending application of Louis Herkert, Serial No. 387,794, filed April 10, 1941, now Patent No.

2,372,204, dated March 27, 1945, for Tubular re-' mote controls, and the claims herein are directed to subject matter not specifically claimed in such parent application. 1

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A distant control tubular device comprising a tubular sheath, a fiat metallic flexible band 'adapted to move to and fro in said sheath, a plurality of groups distant from each other of rolling elements inserted between said sheath and said band and adapted to maintain said band at a, distance from said sheath and to 'roll on said band during the displacements of said band, a helical spring disposed in said sheath about said band and receiving said rolling elements between successive turns of said spring and means disposed between said spring and said band and cooperating with the spring for retaining said rol1- ing elements between the corresponding turns of said spring even when said band is removed from said sheath.

2 A distant control tubular device comprising :a tubular sheath, a fiat metallic flexible band adapted to move to and fro in said sheath, a plurality of groups distant from each other of roll- Ting elements inserted between said sheath and said band and adapted to maintain said band at a distance from said sheath and to roll on said band during the displacements of said band, a helical spring disposed in said sheath about said band and receiving said rolling elements between I '4 successive turns of said spring, and means carried by said spring for retaining said rolling elements between the corresponding spring turns even when said band and spring are removed from said sheath.

3. A distant control tubular device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprises at least one tubular cage carried by said spring at each group of rolling elements, said cage being provided with penings through which 7 said rolling elements extend.

4. A distant control tubular device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprises a tubular cage contiguous with the inside surface of said spring at each group of rolling elements, said cage being provided with openings through which said rolling elements extend.

5. A distant control tubular device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprises a tubular cage contiguous with the outside surface of said spring at each group of rolling elements, said cage being provided with openings through which said rolling elements extend.

6. A distant control tubular device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprises for each group of rolling elements two tubular cages, the one being disposed about said spring and the other between said spring and said band, said cages being provided with open ings through which said rolling elements extend.

' LOUIS HERKERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date Germany -2 Mar. 2, 1935 

